Warriors: What Is There To Do?

Chapter 23- Well?

Okay, Splitpaw prided herself on being self-reliant, but even she could admit that she was scared and needed some help right now. Her father, Strongsoul, had cornered her in a very bad situation. He had convinced almost half of the Gathering that she was the reason the moon was becoming covered in clouds... that Starclan was angry with her. She had finally stood up to one of the main reasons she was the way she was, but it had backfired.

Bonepaw was nowhere to be seen, and now neither was Rapidpaw. Cats around her were murmuring and looking at Splitpaw suspiciously.

"What clan is that poor cat in?" whispered a white she-cat with a black tail to a dark ginger tom with golden stripes.

"I don't know, Raventail, but she smells like a Shadowclan cat!"

"I've never seen her before," whispered a calico she-cat who padded over to where the other two were sitting as Splitpaw was stuck in the middle of the cats.

"Me neither, Hollywing, I'm sure I would've remembered a face... like that."

"Yeah... what do you think, Greywillow?"

"Hmmph... I don't know what Shadowclan is trying to pull, bringing it here."

"Oh, come on... maybe that little cat isn't the most pleasant to look at, but maybe she had nothing to do with it, Greywillow! I'm sure you don't think because Silentfeather is deaf she's an 'it,' do you?" argued a silver she-cat. They all glanced at Splitpaw.

"I... I guess not, but that cat... I've never seen anything of the likes of her. Do you think this is a message from Starclan or something?"

Then, right when the ginger tom — who's name she had caught to be Blazestrike — had been about to answer, Batwing had pushed his snotty pelt right up into the small group of Thunderclanners, "Yeah, like how Starclan is warning us not to trust her? She just looks like an evil cat! You have no idea what's running through her head!"

Anger rushed through her. That stupid tom... what had she ever done to him?! That amber-eyed cat was asking for her to claw his eyes out...

A few Windclan cats were siding with the idea that Shadowclan was up to something.

"Why else would they bring such a huge distraction? They're planning an ambush, I tell you, and that 'paw over there is the best diversion they could ever ask for!" a tiny grey she-cat yowled to the Gathering and all who were listening.

"Skyrunner, calm down! Even if that was the case, which it's not, you're not helping anything," an older grey she-cat mumbled, looking up at the moon, now all but disappeared in the clouds of Starclan's anger. A cold, shiver-inducing breeze ruffled the leaves of the Fourtrees.

"But Frozenfire—"

Then, like a savior, the four leaders came out from their space behind the oak trees and climbed their own tree.

"What seems to be the problem," boomed the Thunderclan leader, a huge black tom with bright green eyes. He had been the first to look away when she had first come to the Gathering as a kit.

"Fernstar... Shadowclan brought an apprentice that had quite the... looks about her," claimed a cat in the crowds, towards the front.

Fernstar looked between the other two leaders, Glowstar and the Windclan leader, before addressing Sharpstar.

"Is this true, Sharpstar?"

"Yes," she replied dryly, "I do believe that I can bring whatever cats I want to this Gathering,"

"Yes," interjected the ginger Windclan leader, "But did you really have to bring... her? She is causing quite a disruption! She should be ashamed of herself!"

Okay.

That.

Was.

It.

"I can't help it!" she yowled at the top of her voice, squeezing her eyes shut and letting the echo of her words settle in the deathly quiet clearing.

"I can't help that I was born this way! Do you all honestly think that I asked to be this way? That I wanted to look like this? I can't help that I wasn't perfect for you, Strongsoul, or good enough to be in Riverclan, but don't blame Sharpstar or anyone else! Just try to see it from my point of view! What if you were the one with something wrong with you, but you thought it was perfectly normal? What if every... every cat that looked at you flinched or made rude comments about you? If they kicked you out of everything you've ever known? How would you feel?"

Sobs had made her stutter towards the end, but it felt so good just to yowl it out to the clearing moon and stars of her otherworldly ancestors.

It was too quiet for her comfort.

"Well?" she said softly.